


Reborn

by PidgeTechNerd



Series: Tales of the Birds and Speedster [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Batfamily Feels, Big Brothers, Cassandra Cain is Black Bat, Child Abuse, Comedy, Dick Grayson is Robin, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay, Gay Panic, Gotham City - Freeform, Hurt Wally West, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, OC, Protectiveness, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Young Justice - Freeform, batfamily reverse, dark themes, good dad bruce - Freeform, joker fucks things up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 03:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17072750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PidgeTechNerd/pseuds/PidgeTechNerd
Summary: Wally West wasn't always himself. No, in fact, he was a completely different person in another universe, funny how science worked right?By pure accident, two paths cross to create one. Wally learns how to be both a speedster and part of this world; whilst dealing with his newfound friendships and figuring out just what he felt for the Robin with the cerium blue eyes and skill in circus tricks.





	1. Reckless Mistakes.

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically a Birdflash fanfiction with a little twist. It may take a little while to pick up, but bare with me!

_The bustle of the city around her gave ease to her hammering heart as she climbed the fire-escape, even if just for a second. Her blue eyes glanced over every small bit of detail around her, the rusting bars of the stairs, the eerily quiet and empty street below. She could also hear the unsteady beat of a helicopter somewhere in the distance. All things she took comfort in, more for the reason that she knew that she was doing something extremely stupid and downright reckless. So trying to calm her anxiety-filled veins was harder than a simple 'It'll be okay.'_

_What was the ridiculous thing she was doing?_

_Well, before she decided to take the climb of life, Cassidy Ashers had been waiting for her older brother Casper. Biding her time by jumping on the garbage bins. After that, not much time had passed until she heard something that instantly caught her attention._

_A scream._

_And like the good citizen she was, plus the morbid curiosity and the mindset of someone who wanted to be a detective when she grew up, Cassidy decided to check it out. It had taken her a few seconds to realize that the scream had, in fact, come from above, and another minute to reach the fire escapes ladder which was at least a meter above her height. Luckily for her, Cassidy had been able to jump from one of the bins to the ladder safely and here she was climbing the fifteen flight staircase._

_Of course, she wasn't going in completely blind, she had called her brother once she was on the fire-escape and told him that she had heard a scream from the building._

_"Okay, I'm nearly there, I'll call some backup. but until I arrive stay where you are and don't move." That was what Casper had said, having faith in his little sister knowing she wouldn't lie for the heck of it. After all, having a police detective for a brother stopped the possibility of a prank call. At least she knew that the police were arriving anytime soon, but that didn't stop the urge to see what was wrong and where it was coming from. Plus if she had stayed on the ladder Casper would have instantly taken her away from danger and tried to keep her safe. As would all good siblings. Which was definitely something she wanted to avoid._

_But the urge to find out who the scream belonged to was much stronger than the fear of a lecture once he arrived. Not to mention the influence of caped heroes like the ones in the comics she read in her spare time like Batman or the Flash pushed her forward past any hesitation._

_Slowing her pace, Cassidy noticed she was reaching the top of the staircase, and yet there was no evidence of anyone in trouble. no signs of any break-ins, no open windows to indicate where the scream was coming from. Could she have judged wrong? It could have come from the main street or another alleyway around the corner. Maybe she missed it?_

_"Shit." The 15-year old muttered, running a hand through her short curly hair, there was no other explanation. she had just climbed fifteen stories for nothing. Cassidy was about to turn away from the stairs when she heard another scream, this time louder and more intense. Her head whipped upwards towards the roof, no way?_

_Taking a breath, Cassidy took out her phone and shot a message to her brother notifying him on where the scream had originated from, and that she was investigating. Then steadying herself, the petite girl reached out her shaking hands and gripped the ladder attached to the top of the fire escape which lead to the roof. And climbed._

_With the upper body strength, she had gained from her five years of gymnastics the girl got herself up the ladder and within seconds had gotten high enough that she could see over the wall onto the roof. As her eyes peered over the edge, she caught sight of something that caused her to grip the ladder tighter, the fear of accidentally letting go and falling to her death suddenly very real as a wave of dizziness hit her._

_In front of her were at least eight armed men. At first glance, Cassidy couldn't quite make out what was in the middle of the group of men, But After one of the men shifted to the left slightly, she realized with horror it was children. Four of them all together, each were either crying or sitting hugging their stuffed animals._

_Before Cassidy could begin to descend back down the stairs to meet the police and inform them on the situation, the little girl in the pink dress let out another cry, this time louder than before, drawing the attention of an especially mean looking man who unlike the others, didn't have half a mask._

_"Shut up you_ snivelling _brat. Or I'll blow your pretty little head off." He yelled swinging his gun down dangerously and pointing it at the girl who let out a whimper and stared at him in fear._

_Without thinking Cassidy pushed herself onto the roof, her eyes ablaze with anger._

_"Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Before the brunette could even process the most idiotic thing she had ever done, a single gunshot rang out, missing her body by a width. Whilst the others only swung around and pointed their weapons at her._

_"Stop. It's only a little girl. Don't waste your ammo." The man snapped, making the trigger-happy men shuffle back away from Cassidy. Instead, the maskless man, who was obviously the leader in this operation, stepped forward. A dirty smirk appearing on his lips. He stopped when he was a foot away from the girl who was stood still with wide eyes, shocked and petrified from what had just happened. "You're one lucky duck aren't you? So-called talented soldiers," He threw a glance at the trigger-happy man who had accidentally shot without permission. "Shoot at you and you come out with nothing but a scratch."_

_Cassidy snapped out from her shock when his fingers brushed against her cheek, which sent a sharp spike of pain through her face._

_"Don't touch me, asshole." She snapped, her voice shaking slightly. A grin spread across his face as his eyes looked her up and down._

_"Fiesty aren't we. Not to mention brave." He paused and let his gaze flick back to the children who were huddled up to each other, watching everything with wide and fearful eyes. Perhaps a bit of hope and disbelief in them as well. She couldn't tell, but one thing Cassidy did know for definite was that if Casper didn't turn up anytime in the next minute, she was dead. Within a snap movement, the man shot his hand out and grabbed Cassidy's face and brought her closer to his face. "Or perhaps just an idiot. Do you even know what you've gotten yourself into?" The girl stayed silent and glared at him. Biting back any sarcastic retort she had for him, something along the lines of a breath mint,_

_"Going to stay silent now are we?" He snorted and grabbed the back of her collar then, with a little more force than needed, pushed her into the group of children. "Looks like we'll have more company." The man mused, readjusting his gun so it wasn't slung around his shoulder._

_"But Shepherd sh-" The soldier was cut off by a gunshot that went straight through his head, with deadly aim. The children around Cassidy instantly began screaming and crying as the body dropped to the ground, quickly the elder girl put her arms around them and whispered for them to be silent. Ignoring her own shaking body and the fear that almost paralyzed her to the spot._

_She had just watched someone murder a teammate in cold blood, this Shepherd, whoever he was, wasn't someone to fuck around with._

_"You see, little girl, I don't care how many superhero comics you've read. But this is the real world, where Batman doesn't exist and anyone who tries to play hero end up dead." Shepherd pointed his gun into her face and grinned again._

_"Which is where you're going to end. Say goodbye brat."_


	2. A cowardice move or a brave sacrifice?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank Y'all who have stayed with this story- it's not far in and I promise it's getting there. The story itself and plot take a little while to get into. But! I promise that its gonna start properly soon.

_A shot rang out. The sound echoing around Cassidy. For the first time since her parent’s death, she felt her heart stop, frozen in a fear which gripped her tightly. Followed by a heart-breaking realization that ‘this was it.’_

_When she was eight, Cassidy was made to sit down in the principal’s office whilst a police officer told Casper and her about the accident their parents were in. A car crash. At the time, Cassidy hadn’t completely processed what she had been told. Obviously, she knew the meaning of death, and what it meant. Her parents were never coming back. It was just Casper and her against the world. But at the time, being told so suddenly and out of the blue that her parents were dead? It took moving to New York to stay with their Aunt Madeline to completely process what had happened. Even now, seven years later; Casper 23 years old and now a police detective in training and Cassidy herself a high school student well on the way to becoming a detective as well. Cassidy will still catch herself occasionally expecting to see her mother picking her up from school, or her dad to come into her room and ask her to turn down the radio. Each and every time it would send a sharp stab through her heart to remember, oh yeah, it was impossible for those things to happen because they were gone._

_When someone died, their presence doesn’t just up and leave. That’s what she found out the hard way, for years, noise or smell would trigger an old memory of them. She knew it was the same for Casper, who ended up spending most of his time away from their house, probably a fraction of the reason to escape the reality of it. So for the longest time, Cassidy would use any means necessary to keep their memories alive and fresh in her mind, even if it caused her pain. The girl would dive into her dad’s comic collection and sit on her parent’s bed for hours on end getting lost within the world her father loved so dearly._

_So now, as she squeezed shut her eyes waiting for the bullet to hit her, she couldn’t help but think about the heroes she had come to love. The infamous Batman and the family he had managed to find in the darkest of cities giving her the hope she needed, the ingenuous Flash who would always give Cassidy something more to look at other than her pain, the bright and bubbly nature of Kid Flash. She even found herself picturing Superman, a hero who could defeat anything or anyone._

_She found herself wishing that she had more time. More time to make her parents proud, more time to watch Casper achieve his goals and more time to grow up into the person she could have been. But her time was running out fast, she had seconds, not even that milliseconds before the bullet hit her._

_The only thing that tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop it was the name of her hero, her personal Batman._

_“Cassidy!” It was then the girl realized that it had been more than ten seconds since the shot fired, her eyes snapped open. Stood by the ladder was Casper. Her hero had arrived just in the nick of time._

_“What the fuc-“ Shepherd cradled his hand, at that moment Cassidy realized the shot had been from Casper himself. He had gotten a clear shot of Shepherd and quickly disarmed him before he could kill her. Relief overwhelmed her as from behind them the door to the roof, which Cassidy hadn’t realized existed, burst open exposing the backup._

_It was a blessed whole minute until reality caught up with the armed men and once they did, hell opened up around them and bullets fired rapidly, sounding as frantic as the men probably felt as the police detectives all ducked for cover._

_Meeting her brother’s eyes, Cassidy understood his silent plea, and quickly nudged the children to the side, making sure to keep the terrified children silent and low to the ground as they went. The small group took cover behind a chimney pot as hell opened up around them and the gunshots magnified as the police officers began firing back now that the civilians were out of danger._

_“I’m scared.” One of the boys whimpered and looked up at Cassidy with tears welling in his eyes. A protective feeling rose in her gut and she brought the boy close to her body._

_“Don’t worry, the police are here. They won’t let anything bad happen to you. And I’ll keep you all safe.” She comforted, giving each of them a, hopefully, warm smile. It appeared to work for a few seconds because they all instantly relaxed. Well until a voice from behind Cassidy spoke up, giving her the feeling like someone had dunked an ice bucket over her head._

_“Is that so?” Shepherd had somehow slipped through the chaos of the gunfight and snuck up on the group. Cassidy could see that someone had gotten a shot at the man because he was favoring his left leg more so than his right, and his clothes were bloodier than they had originally been. Before Cassidy could do anything, she found herself being dragged up by her hair._

_“This is your fault, you bitch.” He dragged her into the open. The two were on the other side of the fire escape, which happened to be in Casper’s direct point of view._

_“Let me go,” Cassidy screamed trying to wiggle out of Shepherds grasp, but each time Cassidy thought she was getting somewhere, his grip tightened and Cassidy’s airways constricted slightly. Casper’s attention snapped away from the armed men who were quickly getting detained and fell on the man holding his sister hostage._

_“No one fucking move or I will blow her brains out. And I’m sure that wouldn’t be a pretty sight.” The man cackled and pushed a gun up to her temple, roughly silencing her. He was mad, Cassidy realized with horror that he would do what he said regardless if someone moved or not. He was painfully outnumbered with nowhere to run and nowhere to go. He was utterly fucked, and he knew it. Shepherd was only stretching out his time as much as possible to avoid the enablable._

_Cassidy caught her brother’s eyes as she stared straight ahead, even from where she was stood, she could spot his tense posture and the fear in his eyes. It was a stalemate. The officers couldn’t move without putting her in danger, yet Shepherd himself couldn’t move because if he did the police could take him out instantly. A complete stalemate. Casper opened his mouth to say something, probably along the lines of ‘leave her alone, there’s nowhere to go, you’re cornered.’ When a sound made everyone jump._

_One of the children had come out from hiding and screamed. Caught off guard, Casper took his gaze off of Shepherd and looked at the child. Using this as his chance, the gunman pointed the gun away from Cassidy’s head and pointing it straight at Casper. A dead man’s desperate act._

_Adrenaline shot through Cassidy’s veins as she saw Shepherd take aim at her brother. No. No, she was not about to let this happen. Catching sight of her brother’s eyes again as he turned back to the two, she elbowed behind her into his gut and spun around kicking him backward. This stopped Shepherd from shooting her brother, but what Cassidy wasn’t expecting was for the man to catch her kick and for the momentum of the kick to throw him backward._

_Backward. Right off the side of the building. A scream tumbled out of her mouth as Shepherd fell, dragging Cassidy with him. From the roof, she could only just make out her brother screaming her name with such terror it drove her body and mind into panic mode, her hands latching onto the first thing it could. The_ ledge, _a meter and a half away from the roof. From the impact of the sudden fall and catching herself, Cassidy slammed into the building’s side. The force loosened Shepherd's grip from her leg and the man went screaming to his death._

_“Cassidy!” Casper’s frantic voice came from over the wall where his face was staring down at her, pale from fright._

_“Casper.”_

_“Hold on.” He yelled and lay down, reaching his hand as far as it could stretch. But even with his ridiculously oversized limbs, he couldn’t reach her. Tears sprung to her eyes as Cassidy felt her hand slipping, there was no way she would survive this, and the siblings both knew this._

_“I love you, I love you so much. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She said, her voice catching. Casper’s eyes widened a fraction before mirrored hers._

_“Don’t you dare.”_

_“Casper, promise me,” Her hand slipped again and she felt gravity pull against her hanging body. “Promise me you won’t give up.” Casper shook his head and tried to reach down again, this time his fingers nearly touched hers. In a last attempt to save herself Cassidy reached her free hand up and tried to grasp onto Casper’s outstretched hand. So close._

_“Don’t leave me, little sister. I can’t-“_

_Their hands brushed and Cassidy’s grip slipped, sending the girl spiraling towards the ground._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot and original characters belong to me, the DC comic characters and world belongs to the incredible and talented artists and writers of it all.


	3. Forever peace and happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Mentions of Suicide, death.

_White._

_When you’re growing up, you think about what it would be like to die. What someone’s last moments are. Does their entire life flash before their eyes? Do they see some kind of sign that they’re going to hell or heaven_. _People have theorized for years, with only those who have died and by a miracle come back to life, as physical evidence._

_But even then, their visions are all so different that it’s difficult to see what is and isn’t. Cassidy had always believed in the more scientific side of life, that when you die, you are reincarnated. But not in a spiritual way, more so, the atoms of your body become something else. Your body will transfer its energy into the soil or even flowers. But you yourself die alongside your brain._

_So knowing you’re going to die, watching disconnected as your body flails uncontrollably towards the ever approaching pavement below. It’s scary, no, terrifying._

_But the wave of calm that engulfs Cassidy’s body is strangely lulling. The fear slowly disintegrates and she can’t feel anything but acceptance. She was going to die, and there was nothing she could say or do that could help her now. Not even the anguished scream from her brother can do anything now. A shimmer of gold draws Cassidy’s attention._

_Then without warning, her entire vision is covered in a pure white followed by blackness. Was she dead? Had she hit the pavement? If so why could she still think?_

_Her body felt warm as if someone had lightly covered every inch of her skin with a warm piece of clothing. But no pain? Her eyes fluttered open._

_What?_

_Instead of the darkness she had expected, Cassidy could only see a white abyss surrounding her, seemingly neverending. Then right in front of her eyes, the white began to shimmer gold and purple, the same gold that she had seen before everything went black. A large figure appeared to Cassidy’s surprise and confusement. It flickered in and out of visibility, causing the girl to struggle to make out what this figure was._

_Finally the air around it hardened and Cassidy could finally make out what the figure looked like. They were wearing a golden helmet which strange markings running alongside the edges, a white cloth was covering the person’s body, preventing Cassidy to see anything indecent, to her relief. With a jolt she realised next to the man was a small boy holding the man’s hand._

_“Who-“She froze, the question on the tip of her tongue. But oddly enough, she felt as if she didn’t need to know the answer. As if she knew exactly who the little boy was. Cassidy’s eyes slowly trailed up the boy’s body, taking in the details; He was tiny, perhaps 10 or 11, definitely scrawny for his age and underfed. His face and arms were covered in freckles and his hair was a natural red or ginger. A colour that nearly blended in with the Flash T-shirt he was wearing. By then she could almost certainly guess who it was, despite the impossibility of the situation. But the thing that made it all certain, was his eyes. An emerald green colour._

_“Wally?” Cassidy whispered, her eyes wide in shock. The man moved closer, tugging the little boy along with him._

_“Cassidy Asher’s. This situation may be overwhelming-“_

_“You don’t say, I just died. And now there’s two random ass people in front of me, one of them looks like a character from a fricking comic. So may be overwhelming, is an understatement.” The little boy chuckled quietly, a tired sounding laugh, one you wouldn’t expect from a child._

_“I knew you would quickly figure it out, but not this fast. I guess this makes it easier." The man muttered under his breath, only just loud enough for Cassidy to make out._

_“What do you mean?”_

_“You, Cassidy, are special. More special than you could ever realize.” Cassidy felt a pressure in her chest building up with every word he spoke._

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Not everyone would run towards danger, not to mention sacrificing yourself for your brother. Not just anybody would have that kind of strength, that courage.” A light blush dusted her cheeks, well this was unexpected. Was she actually dead? Perhaps this was the last few seconds of her brain creating a scenario before she completely cut off from the world and dying. Response to trauma._

_“Because of this, you were chosen.” Cassidy blinked at the two of them, her mind blank. Chosen? A strong wave of cold overtook her senses, leaving her gasping for air._

_“You need to make a choice now. You’re running out of time.”_

_“What the heck are you on about? What do you mean chose? Why am I running out of time? I don’t understand.” Cassidy screamed, her hands gripping her chest trying to stop the intense chill that grew more painful with every breath. Finally, the boy stepped forward, his expression mirroring Cassidy. Pain._

_“My names Wally West.” Cassidy’s breathing hitched as she stared at the boy. Liar. It couldn't be true. “I found out that my Uncle was the famous Flash, so I ended up recreating his experiment to attempt to gain the same abilities. It took a while but today I finally collected everything I needed. I know it was dangerous and if it went wrong, it could kill me. But truthfully,” The ginger faulted slightly, before shaking whatever doubt’s off and carrying on, his voice as void of emotion as it was before. “I wanted it to fail, I wanted to die. So I used this as an excuse to do it. And it worked. I died the moment the lightning struck me, or at least my heart stopped.” Cassidy stared at Wally, her eyes wide with shock. But the man didn’t give Cassidy a chance to recover, which was probably the best thing as the cold had spread slowly throughout her body, along with a dull pain._

_“But Wally isn’t supposed to die. He holds too much of an important key in the future. But his wish to die is too strong to be ignored. So we came to a compromise. Find someone with a heart true enough to suit. Then…” The man trailed off looking at Cassidy expectedly. Her heart pounded as she faced the two. There was no way this was happening it wasn’t real. The brunette stared in silence at the two for a moment before laughing. A laugh followed by a wetness which damped her cheeks._

_“You found someone to take his place? So basically, the reason I am running out of time is that I’m moments about being dead myself.” The man nodded grimly. “But isn’t this stealing?” Wally shook his head and gently took Cassidy’s hands in his smaller more frail ones, they were shaking, but his body was relaxed._

_“Please.” He whispered, his grip tightening slightly. “If you don’t agree, I’ll have to go back and I can’t. I can’t.”_

_“You will still keep your consciousness from your previous life, but you will also inherit Wally’s mind and intelligence; molding both of you together in order to create a completed and in a tacked soul.” The man added, a small soft smile on his lips as he glanced down into Cassidy’s eyes._

_“But, are you sure?” She asked, part of her wanting to take the chance to live, but also knowing that in that sense she would be taking Wally’s life. An intense wave of pain hit Cassidy, making the girl cry out in pain._

_“Please Cassidy, you’re running out of time,” Wally begged, holding her from completely collapsing into a ball. Her blue eyes stared into Wally’s emerald ones, in them she saw something, acceptance. After what seemed like hours, which in reality was only a few seconds, Cassidy nodded. The man smiled and held out his hand for her to take. Wally brought the girl into a hug. “Thank you.” He drew back and sent her a smile, he seemed more alive than he did before, his eyes shone and his smile was genuine. It was painful, Cassidy noted, feeling sadness well up in her chest._

_“Say I love you to mum for me.” He added. Cassidy nodded and held in another cry, from the pain or the sadness surrounding Wally, she couldn’t tell. She reached out and took the man’s hand. Within seconds the pain had completely vanished, along with Wally._

_“What-“ She glanced up to the man who put his index finger on her forehead._

_“Now it’s time we part. From now Cassidy Asher and Wally West have become one. You are destined to do amazing things. Whether you succeed or not, that’s up to you. But for now, get used to your situation, perhaps one day we will meet again. But until then, keep running forward.”_

_Around her, images flashed in front of her eyes, getting faster and faster. The feeling of the man’s touch disappeared and she felt as if she was floating, watching as the images blurred into darkness. Everything was silent._

 

 

**His eyes fluttered open.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Sorry, it took so long to come out with this. I may or may not have been uber busy with work and college. 
> 
> Anyway all characters apart from my own belong to the creators of the awesome world of DC. But the plotline belongs to me.
> 
> 1514 Words. So proud-

**Author's Note:**

> All comments and kudos are appreciated! Plus constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for reading.


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